2023-05-02 21:01:04
The intersection of these testimonies, and the fact that they come from people of diverse backgrounds and origins, suggests a possible biological mechanism that remains a mystery to scientists.
In an article published Monday in the Annals of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), researchers at the University of Michigan observed seizures in brain activity in two dying patients who were in a coma.
This study is not the first of its kind, but it is “more detailed than ever,” lead author of the study, Jimo Borjigin, told AFP.
The scientists studied the records of four patients who died of cardiac arrest at the moment their brain activity was being measured by an electroencephalography (EEG) machine.
These people were in a coma, and their doctors decided to stop treatment because they might not be saved.
When they were removed from life support, two of them (a 24-year-old woman and a 77-year-old woman) experienced an increase in heart rate.
Brain activity also showed a sudden rise in gamma waves associated with consciousness, in a phenomenon previously monitored by previous studies.
The new study goes even further, with the researchers focusing on a larger part of the brain that was stimulated, the posterior region associated with consciousness.
“If this part of the brain is stimulated, it means that the patient sees something, can hear something, and is likely to feel sensations outside the body,” explained Jimo Borjegin, adding that this area was “inflamed.”
But scientists aren’t sure why the other two patients didn’t show these signs. According to Jimo Borjigin, their seizure history may have an impact in this regard.
The researchers cautioned that because the study was conducted on a very small sample, general conclusions cannot be drawn.
Since the patients were dead, it would never be known whether they had visions or not.
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